NewAfricanWoman Issue 49 - Flipbook - Page 27
FEATURE
| WOMEN in HISTORY
T
Our Editor, delves into history
to salute some of Africa’s
greatest heroines who not only
brought true meaning to the
words courage, sacri昀椀ce and
determination, but their immense
legacy and tremendous fortitude
should inspire and inform African
women of today and the future.
Photography:Shutterstock:Veja.jpg
hroughout our glorious history, Africa
has prided itself of great, fearless women
to the extent that — while the F word
(feminism) is still widely derided among both
men and women on the continent — many
feminist thinkers worldwide have often drawn
their inspiration from leadership roles played
by African women past and present. As writer
Patricia McFadden once put it: “African women
have been an important and increasingly
visible part of modern African political life. We
participated in anti-colonial struggles as trade
unionists, political leaders, wives and mothers,
often in the more traditional ways that women
have entered politics. But we have also made
fundamental changes to the body politic of
Africa in very significant ways.”
Therefore, as a continent, we have a
responsibility to narrate her-story in much the
same way as the his-tory of the great Kwame
Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela and
others is told.
For example, the South African struggle against
apartheid is blessed by unsung heroines such
as Helen Suzman, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,
Victoria Mxenge, Margaret Mncadi, Ida Ntwana,
Frances Baard, Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa,
Florence Matomela, Albertina Sisulu, to name
but a few — who either struggled in refugee
camps in exile, or were imprisoned in the most
deplorable conditions — but still steadfastly
remained pillars of society, promoting values of
peace, justice, freedom and human rights.
Angola’s Queen Nzingha was still fighting for
freedom when she died at the age of 81, having
led her people into battle and the freedom
struggle against armed Portuguese forces
throughout her life. In ancient Egypt, prominent
women like Queen Nefertiti not only occupied
high positions of authority and influence, but
also fought in active battle against foreign
invaders.
Mauritanian freedom fighter Dahia Al-Kahina
fought off Arab invaders in the battles of
690AD. She commanded her forces with such
admirable courage that when she faced defeat,
she took her own life rather than succumb to
the enemy. ▶
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March 2023 New African Woman
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